


Songs in the Key of Leonard

by sullacat



Category: Star Trek
Genre: Bad Poetry, Falling In Love, Ficlets, First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, Inspired by Music, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Meeting the Parents, Old Married Couple, mckirk - Freeform, shameless fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-11
Updated: 2014-07-14
Packaged: 2018-02-04 07:41:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 6,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1771105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sullacat/pseuds/sullacat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>So it's the summer and I've given myself a challenge. Twenty-five (mostly) McKirk ficlets, all under <s>500</s> 1000 words, inspired by a fluffy bingo card and a song. </p><p>Crossposting on tumblr.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Hidden in the Fall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> song: [Wild Cub 'Thunder Clatter](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mp5YWm5VHwQ)']  
> [prompt: secret admirer

Away missions were the worst. 

Maybe not the mission itself, but what happened afterward, Jim's inevitable trip to Leonard's infirmary. Bruised ribs and busted knuckles and half-hearted apologies. 

"Sorry, Bones."

"No, you're not."

 

Jim might have thought Leonard hated having to work on his idiot captain - and Leonard did. But not for the reasons Jim might guess. 

Or maybe he might have. A man would have to be blind to miss the way Leonard's fingers glided over Jim's skin, smoothing the purple mottled skin or how Leonard's eyes sought out every inch of exposed skin, lean and muscular and covered in little scars that he knew too well. The way his breath caught, heart in his throat each time his comm went off. _Sickbay, got two incoming, captain injured._

Months went by like this, time passing with each note placed in Jim's record. Each visit marked with the same rueful apology.

"C'mon, Bones," Jim laughed one afternoon, reaching out to Leonard's shoulder as the doctor shined a small pinlight in his eyes, looking for tiny ruptures in the choroid. "How much fun would that be, having a captain who just sat in his chair all day and barked orders."

This time, there was no flippant response. Just the truth. Leonard put the light down, and turned his back. His words were (almost) too soft to hear. "You don't know what it's like for me, Jim." 

Well, as close to the truth as he would admit.

 

"Hey."

Leonard blinked. Laying on a biobed. White lights. Soft beeps. Everything hurt. "What-"

"Klingons," Jim replied tightly, leaning against the hospital bed. He looked tired. "A cloaked ship attacked us day before yesterday. Battle was short and sweet. but you got injured, piece of the wall came down on your head."

Jim's hand was bandaged. "You okay-" Leonard started, only to have his words stopped by Jim's lips, soft and dry pressed against his own. 

"I am now," answered Jim, resting his hand on Leonard's chest. Leonard could see Christine smile to herself as she checked his vital signs, then quietly excuse herself from the area, drawing the curtain behind her. But Jim didn't seem to notice, too busy smoothing back Leonard's damp hair. "I was so scared," he murmured quietly. "What would I do without my Bones?"

A man would have to be blind to miss it.


	2. Small Town Boy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> song: [Life in a Northern Town](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8TACgMzsAI) by Sugarland  
> prompt: Christmas shopping

Riverside, Iowa. 

There wasn't much to see. In the town's history, the population had never grown much over 5000 people, even after the shipyard was built. Walking down the main street of the town, Leonard tried to picture Jim growing up here amidst the old brick buildings, the trees and the farms that dotted the countryside.

"Hello Captain, Doctor."

"Mr Nayyar," Jim replied to the elderly gentleman who passed them by. "Good to see you." 

Leonard nodded politely, and smiled to himself. 

"Jim dear, how are you?" The older woman grinned broadly at them, waving from across the street.

"Doing good - doing _well_ , Ms Owens," he called out, and they both laughed. "She was my English teacher," he explained to Leonard as they ducked into the hardware store.

"Is there anyone in this town who doesn't know you, Jim?"

Now it was Jim's turn to laugh. "Not too many."

Of course the Kirk name was known here in Riverside. In and out of different stores, picking up last minute Christmas gifts and some ingredients for Winona's famous stuffing, Leonard couldn't help but notice how Jim puffed slightly each time someone called out to him, recognizing him, stopping him to shake hands with their Captain Kirk. 

It wasn't the same Jim he knew on board - not a bad change, not really, but _different_. Crossing the street, Leonard reached down and caught Jim's hand in his own. "Your hands are cold."

Jim lifted one of them to his face, laughing. "Not so much."

"Okay, my hands are cold. "

Jim shifted all his shopping bags to the one arm, wrapping his free other around Leonard's waist and pulling him closer. "Better?"

"... a little," Leonard admitted, leaning into Jim - and not just for the warmth. Playful Jim was his favorite, when his eyes got that mischievous gleam in them. "So what's the deal, Jim. You never act like you care about being famous or anything, not when we're on board. Why does it matter now, here?" he asked, pointing at Riverside.

Jim got quiet, thoughtful, like he did sometimes. "Dunno," he finally said slowly as they walked back toward their car. "I guess… I like them knowing that I turned out okay. That I'm not that kid anymore, the fuck-up who used to always be in trouble." Jim looked back toward the center of town where the courthouse stood and exhaled. "I straightened up." Then Jim turned toward Leonard, tugging him closer. "And I like them seeing me with you." 

A slow smile crept on Leonard's face as Jim's lips brushed against his own, and he lifted Jim's hand (the one with the wide gold band) to his mouth. "Good answer."


	3. (Just Like) Starting Over

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> song: [(Just Like) Starting Over](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAJ2AoEwDvY&feature=kp) by John Lennon  
> prompt: unexpected date  
> verse: ['Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow'](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1019393/chapters/2027309), after Jim's accident

"Let me help you with that."

"I got it." Jim grabbed the boot from Leonard's hand, ignoring the glare that accompanied that move. "I told you to go ahead, I'd meet you there."

"...Jim," Leonard began then stopped and there it was. That look on his face. 

Jim had seen that look a dozen times a day since the accident. "I told you," Jim muttered, rolling himself to the small hotel room closet, "I can dress myself." And he had, mostly, thank you very much. All that was left was his socks and boots (and to go fix what was left of his hair). 

But getting into his boots really required two people - one to hold the boot up and another to lift Jim's paralyzed leg into it. Jim being Jim, he refused to acknowledge this, accepting it as another no-win scenario that he'd overcome… eventually. 

Maybe today. "The guide is waiting for us, go down there and meet her. I'll catch up in a minute," he said, guiding his chair toward the side of the bed.

But Leonard wasn't having it. "Why don't you let me help, and we can go down together," he began in that soft tight voice Jim recognized as the one McCoy used when he spoke to children and animals. 

"It's not your job to help me with this. You're not my mother."

"But I'm your husband."

"That's what I mean. You married a captain, Bones… not a cripple." That unspoken argument they had everyday since Jim woke up in that hospital bed and discovered he'd never walk again. 

"This is bullshit," Leonard slammed the hotel room door shut. "You wanted to get away from the family, all the kids, everyone who was suffocating you after the surgery, so we left. It's just us here now, Jim. You got me, or we can get a droid, but you are gonna need some goddamn help with these things."

"That is just like you, Bones, always with the fucking yelling," Jim growled, throwing the boot on the bed. "It's like your default switch when you don't know what to do."

"Excuse the fuck out of me, but it's hard to know how to handle you, Jim when you act like a fucking infant."

"I am seventy- five years old, you son of a bitch."

"Then act like it." Leonard turned and left, leaving Jim fuming… and still barefoot. 

 

It took twenty minutes, but Jim managed to get the boots on (but no sock on his left foot). The guide downstairs told him that Doctor McCoy left a message that he had some errands to run, but would meet him for dinner. 

Maybe that was for the best, Jim decided, heading out on his own. He spent the day touring the nearby naval base and its archives, then took a ferry out to the submarine memorial set up a few decades ago. Without Leonard ( ~~hovering~~ ) around, Jim found that he had to ask for help when he needed it - and it didn't kill him, didn't injure his pride nearly as bad as he'd thought.

The shuttle got him back to their hotel right at dinner time. Jim didn't see Leonard anywhere, so wheeled himself toward the hotel's restaurant, a new favorite since they arrived, and waited at the bar. 

Five minutes later, a drink appeared in front of him. "From that guy over there," the bartender told Jim, who turned his head and spotted Leonard sitting in at one of the tables in the back. 

Looking at him from this distance, Jim could see all those small changes that marked the passing of time- the white hair, the slightly bent back. But those eyes never changed, as sharp as ever, watching as Jim picked up the cold beer and wheeled himself over. "Thanks," Jim told him. "My date seems to be running late."

"Then he's a fool," Leonard replied, holding out his hand. "I'm Leonard."

"Jim," Jim replied, trying to keep the grin off his face. "Jim Kirk."

"Nice to meet you, Jim Kirk." Bones was keeping it cool, Jim noticed, wearing a brand new shirt and drinking some tall fruity drink (which was not his usual style). "What brings you to Yokohama?"

"I'm writing a book," Jim replied, realizing for the first time that it had been decades since he'd answered that question with anything other than 'Starfleet'. "Doing some research on Japanese submarine battles of the last two hundred years." He took a sip from his beer. "You?"

"Second honeymoon," Leonard replied dryly, and Jim laughed, coughing on his beer. 

"Sounds like fun." 

"It is. It will be. He's just got his head wrapped around a lot of things right now. Probably why he's running late."

"You guys happy?" Jim asked, curious at Leonard's answer.

Leonard took a breath. "Mostly," he answered. An honest answer, Jim knew. "It's been a rough year… but in a lot of ways, it's a new start. New life for us."

Jim nodded. "The life you wanted?" he asked, holding his breath as Leonard reached out, taking Jim's hands in his own.

"Oh yeah," Leonard answered without hesitation, and Jim's heart tightened in his chest, even more than it had fifty years ago when he'd married this man. "You promised me a hundred years together, Jim. I reckon we're just getting started."


	4. I thought I loved you then

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> song: [Then](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AtaZ_NU_tU&feature=kp) by Brad Paisley  
> prompt: public proposal  
> verse: [Ashbury Heights (The Notting Hill remix)](http://archiveofourown.org/works/184453)

"And the Academy Award for Best Actor goes to… Jim Kirk for _The Federalist_."

Music that Leonard recognized as the movie's haunting soundtrack began blaring and Leonard felt Jim's hand squeeze tight around his, so tight and then the applause, everyone around them standing and clapping their hands, hooting and hollering. But Leonard was silent, mouth gaping open, staring back at Jim, who looked just as shell shocked. "You won."

"I won," Jim answered, leaning in to brush his lips against Leonard ever so briefly - then hands were pushing at Jim, someone shouting for Jim to get on stage, hurry up, everyone was waiting. 

_He won._

Surreal. Leonard's hands began to shake just a little as he watched Jim stride up up the short staircase and onto the middle of the stage, where a lovely young woman handed him the small statue. The orchestral music quieted, and then - then it was just Jim, standing there in his tuxedo, looking every inch the movie star with all eyes on him. 

"My God," Jim began, staring at the statuette. "I really have no idea what to say. Bones told me to write down something, but I was like, there's no way I'm winning this..." The audience laughed quietly, and Leonard saw the red light go on the camera, still pointed straight on his face, watching for his reaction.

Should be used to it. Four years in the spotlight, four years of being Jim Kirk's boyfriend. But seeing himself on the internet, seeing his name every time there was news about Jim wasn't easy, wasn't ever going to be easy, especially for someone as private as Leonard was. His whole life changed when they moved in together, to the point where he couldn't even have coffee with a friend without it ending up on TMZ. 

And those were Jim's fans, the ones that liked him. Leonard refused to look at the sites that didn't approve of them or their 'lifestyle, though he knew Jim had people to handle that. 

"Well, there are the usual suspects who deserve my eternal gratitude. My assistant Jan, Gaila over at the Enterprise agency for turning me on to this script. Chris Pike, who wrote the book and screenplay, bringing Alexander Hamilton to life, this flawed and fascinating and completely nuanced character that I had the great privilege of trying to channel. Christine Chapel, our amazing director, so good, and all the people behind the camera that somehow turned this California boy into looking and sounding like a founding father." Looking out into the audience, he pointed. "Carol, the most beautiful and gifted leading lady an actor could ask for. Couldn't have done this without you."  


Then Jim grinned, that little smile at Leonard recognized, and his stomach went tight. "But none of this would be happening to me without someone very special in my life. He takes care of me in every way possible one person can take care of another, and even though he's trying to sink down into that chair, I need him to know that all of this means nothing without him in my life." 

Jim's face changed slightly, what Leonard recognized as 'those moments' where decisions were made and nerves were steeled. "Four years ago, he asked me to be his and it changed my life. And now I want to ask him to take one more leap with me." Jim took a deep breath, then tilted his chin up, staring straight at Leonard. "So whatta ya say, Bones? Will you marry me?"

The camera disappeared. Everyone disappeared and for a few moments, it was just the two of them in that big room, eyes locked and all Leonard heard was the pounding of his heart. Then the camera, that damn camera started blinking, people gasping and crying out, murmurs growing louder as they waited for him to answer.

Everyone was waiting for him. "Yeah Jim," Leonard mouthed, nodding, his own smile breaking out on his face, matched only by Jim's million-dollar grin. "I'll marry you." He wasn't prepared for the deafening applause that filled the auditorium, or the hands pushing him out of his seat, the cameraman pointing at the stage, telling him to go up there. Leonard would never remember that walk, heading up those stairs, only that as soon as he reached the stage the applause got even louder, if that were possible, and the orchestra started playing as they held each other, Jim burying his face into Leonard's neck. 

"I can't believe you did that," Leonard murmured. 

Jim pressed their foreheads together. "Had to make sure you didn't say no."


	5. The sky is getting bright, the stars are burning out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> song: [Daylight](http://youtu.be/q1q9ojtZqiI) by Maroon 5  
> prompt: sleepy times

"Hey you."

Jim felt Leonard's arms wind around him, pulling him close in the darkness. "Sorry, did I wake you up?" Jim asked, tilting his head and finding Leonard's mouth seeking his own.

"It's okay." They kissed, soft and slow, the way kisses in the dark always started. The standard issue bed was way too small for two grown men, but somehow they'd managed, arms and legs tangled comfortably. "What time is it?" Leonard asked groggily, kicking his leg out from under the thin sheet. 

"Early." An hour before dawn and the humidity hit Jim with each breath he took in Leonard's unairconditioned tent. They could sleep another hour or so, but Jim's body was wired for another time zone. Even if he were tired, he didn't want to sleep, not right now. Too many thoughts, his mind racing as fast as his heart.

Jim could feel Leonard shifting, slower to wake. "You gotta go?" Leonard asked, his voice soft and uneasy.

"Soon." There was nothing good to be gained by being spotted coming out of McCoy's tent, and the last thing Jim wanted to do was create problems for Leonard, either with his superiors or the locals. Another deep sigh from McCoy, and Jim smiled to himself. 

Four days. This had all happened so fast. "Don't wanna get you in trouble, Doc." 

As it was, Jim had circumvented more than a couple Air Force rules by staying overnight in the Doctors Without Borders camp, but his superior officer was known to cut him some slack occasionally - and those few people who had been watching Captain Jim Kirk, USAF and Doctor Leonard McCoy could see that something special was happening there.

Jim felt it. Should've scared him, but it didn't. 

"Where you off to now?" Leonard asked, sliding up onto one elbow, those large fingers running through Jim's hair.

"Back to Qatar," Jim answered, leaning into that touch. "Pike's been asked to brief some UN bigwigs on the refugee situation here, let them know what's really going on here." Jim had seen a lot during his six years in the Air Force, but the last few days, watching what was happening in this refugee camp had opened his eyes to the tragedy unfolding in this area. "Maybe he can get some more aid to you guys."

"That'd be nice," Leonard murmured, but he didn't sound as if he believed that.

"We're gonna try," Jim told him, unknowingly setting another goal for himself. Get help to this area, these people Leonard was busting his ass trying to save. "Where you going next?"

"Chad, I think. North central Africa, that's the last I heard. Specialized surgical team." 

Jim took a deep breath. "Dangerous there, isn't it?" he asked curiously. Everything he knew about that whole region was tumultuous. But Leonard didn't answer, instead just shifting his legs and rolling on top of Jim, pressing his semi-erect cock against Jim's hip. Okay then. "So Doc," Jim murmured into the rough skin of Leonard's neck, "you think they got wifi there in Chad?"

He could feel Leonard's laughter, bubbling against his chest. "Sometimes. I sure hope so," Leonard told him between increasingly desperate kisses.

"Me too."


	6. stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> song - [Hopeless Wanderer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rId6PKlDXeU&feature=kp) by Mumford and Sons  
> prompt: love at first sight

love a man with the stars in his eyes.

love him… but don't linger too long in his presence because he is still growing and learning and celebrating his body and his youth.  
he doesn't need your baggage, your woes, your own broken bones.  
he's a flame that needs oxygen and you are the depths of the ocean.  
you are his friend - and he needs your friendship right now more than he needs your heart and your kisses.  
be his solid rock, be his right hand, his running buddy. listen to his tall tales and his boastful promises and his disappointments.  
be there for him. stand by him. believe in him.

 

love a man who wanders.  
love a man who leaps before he looks, who drags you out into the stars with him because it makes you uncomfortable and  
he knows you need that push and he pushes you, oh god damn how he makes you yell and growl and shake your head but he's right.  
you were growing old before your own eyes and he breathed life into your soul, shaking the cobwebs that had threatened to take over.

 

love a man who risks it all but remember what risking it all means.  
that you could lose him.  
that he could die.  
that you might not be able to save him.

but you do save him

because you do love him.

 

because one day, just when  
you thought space was full of danger and darkness and he says yes - "but so are you."  
he kisses you so hard you see stars behind your eyelids, bright white light ignited like red matter into a black hole, pulling you in and you ain't got no warp engines to pull you away so you kiss him back and feel yourself fall into that gravity well. 

and you're lost.

"finally," you hear him whisper in your ear. "are you ready for this?"  
yes. because you are found.

because you.

you thought you were waiting for him.


	7. I dream of rain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> song: [Desert Rose](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3lWwBslWqg&feature=kp) by Sting  
> prompt: courtship/wooing
> 
> A SPONES INTERLUDE

Vulcan was dry.

Sarek called upon the priests, setting upon them the task of determining the cause of the drought. After the appropriate offerings were made, they returned to the palace with an answer. 

Vulcan was barren and the old gods were dying. The house of Sarek must provide new blood before the rains would fall again. 

A marriage, they told him, would appease the gods. 

Spock stood behind his father throughout their explanation, eyes lowered. Him, he knew. They all meant him, it would be his marriage, his union to some stranger that would be required. Sharing his life and bed all in the name of Vulcan.

The needs of the many outweighed the needs of the one. 

A call was sent out to neighboring star systems, planets and empires who immediately sent their prime candidates, for who wouldn't seek out a chance to provide a consort to Vulcan's ruling house?

The Terrans sent one male candidate, golden hair and blue of eye, with a smile like a supernova, as well as one female, with dark skin and doe eyes, both the most exquisite creatures. They arrived to great fanfare, accompanied by their physician, sent to ensure their good health throughout the courtship rituals.

Spock would watch all the candidates from his rooms in the tall tower. He would look down at the swimming pools carved into the rock, young lithe bodies meeting and mingling with each other in the stone grottoes and rock gardens, as attractive young people are wont to do. 

But one man kept himself apart from the others. Alone in the long pool, he swam, endless laps, back and forth from one end to the other, and Spock found himself curious about this man.

"I wish to speak…" Spock began, "to that one." Pointing at the pool, he turned toward his bodyman, who nodded and began to make the appropriate arrangements.

A few moments later, the bodyman returned, his face full of hesitation. "What is wrong?" Spock demanded.

"No, someone needs to tell me what exactly is going on here." The voice, loud and surly resonated down the hall and Spock found himself face to face with a angry human male. "And who are you?" the dark haired man asked, shaking water out of his ears, onto Spock's bedroom floor.

Outrageous. "I am-"

 

"Father?" 

Leonard tilted his head, looking down at the small Vulcan girl, tucked into her bed. "Yes, sweetheart?"

Her brows furrowed, half puzzled and half irritated. "That is not how you met." 

"Why Tolara, I didn't say it was your Father and me, now did I? You asked for a bedtime story, and I am telling you a heck of a good one, if I say so myself."

Spock leaned against the doorway, sighing heavily, that same irritated look on his face. "Leonard, why do you insist on sharing untruths with the child." 

Leonard leaned forward, brushing his lips against the young girl's forehead. "Vulcans have no appreciation for good storytelling. Now time for sleep." Standing, he walked toward the doorway where Spock shook his head disapprovingly, turning off the lights and sliding the door closed behind them.

"You are incorrigible, Leonard," Spock said, reaching for Leonard's hand. 

Leonard rubbed a knuckle against Spock's finger tip, enjoying the soft moan that elicited. "Bedtime for you too, husband," he murmured. "Maybe I'll show you how that particular story ends."


	8. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> song: [All of Me](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iYUQW6RovY) by Boyce Avenue (John Legend cover)  
> prompt: cuddling by the fire  
> verse: this is [Big Sky Theory](http://archiveofourown.org/works/268873) Jim and Bones

It was chilly for Atlanta. 

The drive in from the airport went fast, light traffic but Jim was on his cycle and keenly felt the shift in air temperature as the sun went down. He drove into his Brookhaven neighborhood and onto their street, spotting a bright light shining in his backyard. 

Pulling into the driveway, Jim shut off his motorcycle and unfastened his carry-on, and then headed straight to the back gate, opening it, petting Jo's old chocolate lab on the head as he closed it behind him. "Hey girl. Where's the old guy?"

"Thought I heard that death trap of yours pulling up."

Jim grinned, following the sound of that grumble. "I used to think it didn't get cold in Georgia," he said as he walked, wrapping his jacket more tightly around his body.

Leonard was sitting on the back deck, reading by the light of the large fire pit they'd had put in last summer. "We got winters here too." Leonard put his book down and watched as Jim flopped into the patio chair next to him. "Didn't expect you until tomorrow."

"Switched flights." Jim's hand reached out and found Leonard's, warm from the fire. "Missed you." Leaning over, he touched Leonard's cheek, pulling him closer for a tender, tired kiss. "What are you doing out here?"

"Power went out earlier. The guy down the street posted on Facebook that he'd heard a squirrel fell into a transformer, but I don't know what that means, so..." Shrugging, he tapped the medical textbook on his lap. "Just needed to finish this chapter before bed."

"The lights are on now."

Leonard nodded. "Came on about fifteen minutes ago." Closing the book, Leonard set it on the ground next to the sleeping dog. "How was your trip?" he asked, reaching out to touch Jim's shoulder. "Looked like it was raining in the Midwest this morning."

"Storms, fucking awful," Jim leaned into that touch. "But we got around it." Long day, but home now and that's what mattered. 

Home meant this man. Warm. Comfortable. Loving. Jim slid over onto Leonard's lap, straddling him carefully, smiling as Leonard's arms wound around him, still surprised how his life had changed so much in the last few years. 

Jim Kirk - pilot was now also Jim Kirk - husband, stepfather, homeowner. Grown-up.

If he could go back and whisper those words to his fifteen year old self, the little bastard wouldn't believe him. "What're you studying?"

"Just reviewing my old internal medicine book. Surgical residents are all participating in vascular procedures tomorrow." He tried to sound casual, but Jim could see how excited Leonard was about it. 

"You're gonna be brilliant, Bones." Between kisses Jim managed to undo his gold Starfleet tie, and unbuttoned the front of his shirt. Taking Leonard's hand, he pressed it against the left side of his chest. "Tell me what's going on in there."

Leonard shifted his fingers, spreading them wide over Jim's lightly muscled skin, grumbling contentedly. "Got the blood pumping from the atria to the ventricles," Leonard's fingers drew out the pattern on Jim's chest, their faces very close to each other, "out through the pulmonary artery and the aorta." In the firelight Leonard's eyes looked golden, his pupils huge and dark.

Jim kissed his jaw. "What else is going on in there..." he murmured against Leonard's skin.

"It's strong," Leonard told him. "Healthy. Deoxygenated blood comes in this way, passes through the lungs, and heads out into your body, bright red and ready to go." Leonard's large hand settled comfortably on Jim's chest. 

Jim covered it with his own, lacing them together. "What else?"Jim asked, dipping his head, kissing behind Leonard's ear.

"It's brave and true, the heart of a good man. And it belongs to me. It loves me." Their kisses deepened, neither man willing to stop to move inside, not yet. Jim's fingers threaded through Leonard's thick hair, Leonard's hand gripped Jim's shirt, pulling him closer. 

The dog sighed, turning over in her sleep. Her paws twitched.

Home.


	9. One Year

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> song: [Anymore](http://youtu.be/THtX7H6ZJi8?t=39s) by Travis Tritt  
> prompt: gift giving

_One day_

It was their anniversary. 

Three years since the day they'd shuttled to the Starbase 16 and signed the papers that bound them legally together. 

It was their anniversary… and the worst day of Leonard's life.

Leonard sat next to Jim's side, watching as the scanner ran back and forth over Jim's head, scanning for brain activity… and he prayed.

"Please God, let him wake up." Hollow words, he knew. Higher deities didn't like when you only called when there was a problem, and Leonard McCoy only spoke to his God when he needed something. But this was bigger than him and his pride. 

This was Jim's life. 

"Please."

 

_One week_

"You okay?"

Jim didn't look up at Leonard's voice, totally focused on what he was reading. "Not really," he said slowly, narrowing his eyes at the datapadd. When Jim finally looked over his way, Leonard sighed. There is was, that look - guilt and uncertainty and wariness. Leonard didn't know what he hated more - seeing that guilt-filled expression or the mask that quickly followed. "They want to take the ship away from me."

Leonard settled into his chair next to Jim's bed in Sickbay. "That's not exactly it," he protested. Technically Leonard wasn't Jim's physician during his recovery, but as CMO he'd been privy to Starfleet's correspondence with Acting Captain Spock. "They want to make sure that your memory loss doesn't extend back to the Academy or your examinations."

"I remember all that, I remember getting the ship-"

"I know," Leonard said gently, smiling at Jim and his need to get going, to be moving. As frustrating as it was, he knew that attitude would be what got Jim Kirk up and back to himself again. He reached for Jim's hand. "We just need to make sure that they know too." But Leonard couldn't help but frown when Jim flinched at his touch. "You took off your ring."

"Nyota has it. I asked her to keep it safe for me." Jim hesitated, that mask slipping just a fraction. "It just… it feels funny, Bones." He wet his bottom lip with his tongue, that nervous tell. "I don't… I just can't-"

"It's okay, Jim," Leonard nodded, fixing a mask on his own face. "I understand." He didn't, but that didn't matter anymore. _Severe retrograde amnesia_. Jim had lost four years of his life, time that probably wouldn't come back. Jim didn't remember Pike being killed, he didn't remember the Khan incident, he didn't remember the first three years of this five-year mission.

He didn't remember _them_. Unconsciously Leonard touched his own wedding ring, twisting it on his finger. "Just get better."

Jim was alive, that's what mattered. 

If Leonard's broken heart was the price, then so be it.

 

_One month_

"I wish I remembered this."

Leonard watched as Jim's fingers slid across his padd, looking at pictures of the two of them from the past couple years, vacations and parties and visits with Joanna. "You're not supposed to be remembering, Jim. Just..." Leonard sighed softly. It hurt being back here, in Jim's quarters. Moving back to his old room had been particularly hard on him. "You wanted to know what it was like, us together."

"Might come back," Jim murmured, that 'never say die' look in his eyes, but Leonard knew better. The part of his brain that was impacted by the accident meant that those memories were most likely gone forever. His brow furrowed. "We went to Risa? You always talked shit about that place."

Leonard laughed. "You had some fucking cockamamie plan to surprise me for my birthday. We spent most of our time on this beach, actually, not another soul for miles." Leonard's fingers slid across the screen, pictures that they took of each other showing two men, swimming and snorkeling and grilling meat on the deck of their private cabana, clearly in love with each other. 

"We look happy."

"We were." Leonard stopped scrolling when he saw Jim's eyes on his wedding ring. "I can't take it off," Leonard said softly. "I don't wanna make you feel bad, Jim, but I can't."

Jim shook his head. "I'm the one who's sorry, Bones." Jim pointed at one picture of Leonard bent over with laughter, his skinned tanned and a week's worth of stubble on his face. "I wanna be that guy that puts that smile on your face again. I want-" 

Leonard took a breath, resting his hand on Jim's knee. His eyes widened when Jim covered it with his own. "Baby steps, hon." Turning his face, he kissed Jim's temple, sigh of relief when Jim didn't pull away. "I won your heart once before. I reckon I can do it again."

 

_One year_

"You ready?"

Jim fiddled with the collar of his formal uniform. "Just a little nervous…" 

"You know," Leonard's hands slid over Jim's shoulders, giving him a gentle squeeze, "we don't have to do this." Legally, their marriage still existed, even if they had lived the past year (mostly) apart. "Just say the word, and I'll tell all those people to skedaddle."

Jim laughed. "Yeah, we do." Jim looked up at him, his blue eyes warm and so full of love that Leonard's heart stopped. It had taken a long time to get back here, to see that emotion reflected back at him. "When we're old and gray, saying 'I do' to you in front of all our friends is something I want to remember. Dancing with you at our wedding-"

"Technically we didn't dance the first time."

"Even better. This is a first for both of us." Jim's eyes twinkled as he reached for Leonard's hands. "I got a surprise for you."

"Thought that was the honeymoon trip to Risa."

Jim's face fell. "That was supposed to be a surprise."

"Then don't tell your secrets to my ten year old daughter." Both of them laughed, Leonard's face stopping as Jim pulled two gold rings out of his pocket. "Are those..."

"Yeah. Look at the inside." 

Leonard lifted his up to the light, reading the inscription etched inside. _2260.232_. Their wedding day. 

And underneath it - _2264.232_. Today. "It's perfect, Jim." 

Jim ducked his face. "I hate that I don't have those years when we found each other," he sighed, leaning into Leonard's arms wrapping tight around him. "But I've got you again, and I'll be damned if I ever let anything come between us again." 

There was a knock at the door and Leonard felt Jim push one of the rings into his hand. "I'll be the one standing at the end of aisle, okay?" Jim said, just as Nyota opened the door, motioning him to follow her. 

Leonard watched as Jim walked away. "I'll see you there."


	10. Stardust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> song: [Together We Will Live Forever](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swAicg0GjNg&feature=kp)  
> prompt: fatherhood
> 
> [more Jim-centric than the others, but that's what the story wanted to do]

Touch has a memory ~ _John Keats_  
  


He blinked his eyes. 

It took less than a second to familiarize himself with this body. 

Human. Male.

Two sets of memories flowed through the red blood coursing through the veins of these crude muscles. 

His name was George Kirk.

A young man with a similar build and features stood across from him, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape. James. 

No. _Jim._ "It's okay," George told him, clearing his throat to get the words out. _Such crude bodies_. "The Gift is difficult for everyone at first." 

"You're my dad."

"I am," George began, "as much as I can be." Starfleet's assistance with diverting the supernova had saved their world. The Keepers of the Infinite had precious little to offer the crew of the _Enterprise_ in thanks other than The Gift. "I am the physical embodiment of George Kirk, at least up until the day of your conception. I possess all his memories until that time." A little smile on his face at that last memory, a picnic in a secluded bay. _Winona_. "I have a little knowledge about what happened to me through your own memories of me." He shrugged his left shoulder. "Or lack of them. I'm sorry, Jim."

The young man in the gold command tunic just seemed in shock at all of this. "I never knew you," Jim finally began. "My whole life, you were just this… ghost that we all tiptoed around."

"And now you have a chance, small as it is. We have the ability to give this to you - we call it The Gift. Insight into your heart, for you, and your crew. The opportunity to reclaim some time with those whose presence you crave most." 

"You looked into my heart-"

"Jim," George interrupted him. "We don't have much time. Accept The Gift." The two men began walking around the solarium gardens, vivid green in contrast with the stark white of the walls. The sun shone through the glass ceiling, the sky bright blue - the same color as Jim's eyes. "You look like your mom."

Jim chuckled at that, the first smile George saw on his face. "Everyone says I look like you."

"Really?" George replied, grinning wider. "Nah, those cheekbones? Those eyes are pure Winnie." George's face fell a little, emotional feedback from Jim's rough childhood washing through him. "Is she okay?" he asked, tight ball of hurt in his stomach. _Curious._

It was a moment before Jim spoke. "Things got better for her," Jim said tightly. "She's okay now. Took a while, but we're okay." 

"Good, good," George nodded, then asked, "Sammy?" 

Jim's face fell. "Don't know. Settled on some mining colony, last I heard."

"Don't leave things like that," George said, sitting down on a bench. "He's family. Nothing's more important than family." 

"He left," Jim began, but George could see regret in Jim's face. 

"Jim, more than anything I wish I could have been there to watch you grow. Sammy too. God, Jim, it wasn't supposed to be like this. We had plans, your mom and me, taking some time off and raising you boys at home, watching you grow up before setting you free on the universe. Promise me you'll find him and make amends, before it's too late." 

Jim didn't answer, and George didn't push. That wasn't his place here, not anymore. "Tell me a little about you," George continued. "Starship captain, eh?" George didn't hide the proud grin on his face, happy to see the way that affected Jim. "You did it." Reaching out, he touched Jim's shoulder. "But you're so young, Jim. That's a lot of weight to carry all by yourself."

"Don't have to. My crew," Jim began, that smile spreading slow again. "They're amazing. They're my family." Jim hesitated, then added, "I used to be so mad at you, for doing what you did."

"Staying behind?"

"Yeah," Jim replied, a shadow crossing his face. "But then I got the ship, and my crew… I understand now, why you did what you did."

George squeezed Jim's arm. "Tell me more, Captain." The minutes flew by, the two men talking quietly about Jim's ship, his missions, laughing over some of his adventures out in the black. George told Jim about his own life, his parents, and Winnie, stories Jim had never heard before about his father.

"What about you?" George asked, curious. "Got someone special in your life?"

The corners of Jim's mouth quirked. "I do. He's..." Jim stopped, looking down, his face flushing. "He's everything to me." Just then, a door slid open and four people entered the solarium - two dark haired men, a similar enough look that George suspected they were father and son, and a young human woman with her arm wrapped around a tall Vulcan man. 

Introductions were quickly made, and Jim stepped off to the side to speak with the Vulcan and his mother. George watched his son, so tall and strong in that command gold tunic that he didn't notice someone standing next to him. "Doctor McCoy."

"Yes sir," the dark-haired man replied. His eyes were red-rimmed, as if the past hour had been full of strong emotion for him. "It's an honor to meet you, Captain Kirk."

George felt old all of a sudden, realizing who this man was. "I understand you and my son are very close."

Leonard's eyes followed to where Jim was speaking now to Leonard's father, the two men shaking hands. "Yes sir," he repeated. "I love him with all my heart." He got quiet a moment, his voice dropping. "It's why I was glad to have this time here with you. I'd like your blessing, sir, to ask him to marry me." 

George's heart tightened. "You make him happy?"

Leonard laughed. "I hope so." 

"Then do it, and don't wait too long. You never know what's out there," he said, clapping Leonard on the back as the others joined them.

"So, what happens to you all?" Jim asked, standing next to Leonard.

"We will return to our corporeal states," the woman introduced to George as Amanda told them. "But the memories of your loved ones have been fully integrated into our records and histories." She smiled sadly, reaching once more for her son's hand. "In a way, they will live on with us, forever."

With that, the three men signaled their ship, and transported away. 

George glanced at the man and woman standing next to him. "All right then," he said, watching as the two of them closed their eyes, white light shining from their skin as they changed. Soon it enveloped him as well, and George Kirk was gone, a thousand flecks of starlight radiating up into the sky, as if following Jim into the black.

Back into the stars.


End file.
